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• Patents on Medical Procedures and The Physician Profiteer ( September 2004 )
  Susan Leach DeBlasio of Tillinghast Licht LLP

  The first reported effort by an American physician to enforce a medical method patent against a colleague failed last month in a federal district court in Burlington, Vermont. Judge William Sessions III ruled, in the landmark case, that an eye surgeon who used a patented procedure for stitchless cataract incisions on a patient was not liable to the physician-plaintiff for infringement. The closely-watched case had prompted Congress last fall to consider legislation that would ban or severely restrict the utility and profitability of patents on medical or surgical procedures.

• Katz Patent Reexaminations: A Change in Momentum Favoring RAKTL Targets ( June 2004 )
  Michael D. Bednarek, Lawrence J. Gotts and Mark  Koehn of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

  On March 26, 2004, the Director of the United States Patent & Trademark Office issued reexamination orders regarding four patents from the Katz Patent Portfolio, representing nearly 350 separate claims. Although the orders require reexamination of only a fraction of the claims in the Katz Patent Portfolio, likely these Director-initiated reexaminations will invigorate prior art searching efforts and requests for reexamination proceedings by companies Katz has approached about taking a license.

• IP Strategies In Deals. Seminar Summary of Speaker Robert E. Krebs of Thelen Reid and Priest LLP ( June 2004 )
  FindLaw M V

  Robert E. Krebs, Partner and Co-chair, Intellectual Property and Trade Regulation Group at Thelen, Reid and Priest, discussed patent reexamination as a possible alternative strategy to litigation. The importance of reexamination came up recently when the patent office held a UC patent invalid after it had a $520 million infringement verdict against Microsoft.

• Pre-litigation Strategies: Patent Reexamination ( May 2004 )
  Robert E. Krebs and Hal J. Bohner of Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP

  The costs of patent litigation - both in terms of time and money - have been well documented. For example, a patent lawsuit can require several years of concerted effort by company management and outside counsel to complete pretrial discovery and trial. Then, the trial may be followed by an appeal to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.

• The Madrid Protocol: Findlaw Interview with Mark A. Steiner and Mary L. Shapiro of Townsend and Townsend and Crew LLP ( October 2003 )
  FindLaw M V

  Findlaw Interview by David Goguen.

• Patents, Politics, And Cloning ( February 2004 )
  Harold C. Wegner, Stephen B. Maebius and Sean A. Passino of Foley & Lardner LLP

  The United States is on the verge of enactment of a law that would inject "pro-life" politics squarely into the patent arena. Indeed, a bill sponsored by Rep. David Joseph Weldon (R-Fla.) would codify the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's existing policy that human organisms are ineligible subject matter to patent. In other words, if the bill becomes law, then the USPTO would be barred from issuing patents claiming human organisms, including genetically engineered embryos, fetuses, and human beings.

• The Madrid Protocol: Pondering the Panacea and Pitfalls ( November 2003 )
  Mark A. Steiner of Townsend and Townsend and Crew LLP

  As of November 2, 2003, a single application filed electronically with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), could potentially result in trademark protection in any or all of the 58 Madrid Protocol member countries. But U.S. trademark owners wanting to protect their trademarks beyond the U.S. border should proceed with caution, however, as looks may be deceiving.

• Patent Trends in Nanotechnology ( November 2003 )
  M Henry. Heines of Townsend and Townsend and Crew LLP

  The publication of patent applications by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) provides a means of following new developments in a field of interest. One such field of interest is nanotechnology, and reviewing some of the published applications in this field gives some insight into opportunities for further exploration and future patent protection.

• International Trademark Registration: The Madrid Protocol Takes Effect In The United States ( October 2003 )
  Nina  Shreve of Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto

  On November 2, 2003, the United States became an active member of the Madrid Protocol system for international registration of trademarks. This is one of the most important changes to U.S. trademark law in recent years, providing a system for obtaining international trademark protection that is streamlined and potentially very cost efficient.